Kosovo’s handball coach, Jesper Ostlund, has assessed that the national team faces two very challenging matches against Bosnia and Herzegovina in the second qualifying round for the 2027 Handball World Championship. He spoke to the official website of the Handball Federation of Kosovo after publishing the list of players for next week’s games.

The first match will take place on Thursday in Tuzla, while the return leg is scheduled for Sunday next week in Prishtina. Several key players have returned to the national team, and a new name on the list is Olt Kabashi, although some absences have also been confirmed.

Ostlund emphasized that despite the absences, Kosovo has the potential to challenge the opponent if it performs at its best. He considers Bosnia the favorite in this matchup but believes his team has a real chance to advance.

If Kosovo manages to eliminate Bosnia and Herzegovina, it would have only one remaining obstacle to secure a spot in the World Championship. In the first qualifying round, the Kosovo national team eliminated Great Britain, and now it faces an opponent considered to be at a higher level in European handball.

The Swedish coach highlighted that the opponent has a physical team with players active in major clubs, which makes the matchup even more difficult for Kosovo.

The training camp starting on Sunday will be Ostlund’s third in charge of the Kosovo national team. He recalled that in the first camp, the team defeated Great Britain twice, while in the second camp, there were many absences due to injuries, which gave him the opportunity to test new players.